


The General and her men

by Count_Awkwardness



Series: A story can change people, but can a couple of people change the story? [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Bones in the Ocean by The Longest Johns, Found Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, I'm just soft for the clones, Inspired by Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29200512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Count_Awkwardness/pseuds/Count_Awkwardness
Summary: Dusk turned to night, and the squadron had gathered around the crackling fire. Silence filled the air, silence for the men, even inside their own small squadron, that had fallen.As devastating as it had been, they had been trained to shoulder on without more than a small acknowledgment towards their grief.Silence stretched on...until a clear voice began to sing words that felt like a home long forgotten----------In which my oc bonds with her clone squad.
Relationships: Original Character & Original Character
Series: A story can change people, but can a couple of people change the story? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2117877
Kudos: 2





	The General and her men

Loud booms echoed around the swaying tent, dirt specs falling like rain. Yelling could be heard throughout the camp, installed in the heart of the humid jungle.

A circle of white helmets with green stripes, and a single grey one, surrounded the holomap showcasing the battle going on in front of them.

“The only way to cover our retreat is to continue forward”

Runner, as the commander, was the most level-headed of their group.

“I am not in the mood to die today, Runner.”

Runner nodded at the general and turned to the others to continue the explanation.

“You’d be on the transport sent back to the main base, ma’am. We’d stay behind” Fever’s knuckles had turned white from gripping the edge of the table, even so, his voice didn’t falter.

She chuckled. “That is very noble of you all. But do you really believe we have men to spare? For every soldier that survives today, there is one that might save our hides tomorrow”

_I won’t leave you behind._

She had been with the regiment for little over two months, and yet, the men had already learned to read her real intentions.

“I agree that a transport must be sent, however, we’re counting on the stupidity of the separatists-”

“-Which is very consistent.” Trix interrupted.

The General smiled. “-but it’s risking something too important on a variable we can’t really count on.”

She went on to explain a new strategy; drawing attention to the transport that was leaving, only to lure them in on an empty ship full of explosives. This would split their enemy’s forces, and allow them to push through towards their base.

Shi, spoke up. “It’s risky, ma’am.”

“If I’ve learned anything from you, it’s that you don’t like easy things” she replied.

Things had definitely not been easy.

The battle had stretched on for hours, the terrain working both in their favor and against them. Many had died- too many, in her opinion. It had been a bloodied victory.

The general had the custom of sweeping the battlefield after, closing the eyes of the dead and muttering phrases that sounded familiar but they couldn’t understand.

After she’d finished, she walked back to the edge of the separatists’ base, where Shi applied a burning liquid to the wounds of his brothers. Contrary to what was expected of medics, Shi only gave a stern glance towards them before moving on to the next person.

Dusk turned to night, and the squadron had gathered around the crackling fire. Silence filled the air, silence for the men, even inside their own small squadron, that had fallen.  
As devastating as it had been, they had been trained to shoulder on without more than a small acknowledgment towards their grief.

A soft sound piqued their attention, all turning to find the source. A clear voice began to sing words that felt like a home long forgotten:

_Oh, I bid farewell to the port and the land_

_And I paddle away from brave Eebgan's white sand_

_To search for my long ago forgotten friends_

_To search for the place I hear all warriors end_

It’d taken weeks before the general had taken off her helmet in front of them, by now, the dark brown hair and crowded eyebrows were a familiar sight. But her voice was very different from the one they knew.  
It was usually curt and void of much emotion, now, the words carried a lightness that seemed to dance with the flames.

_As the souls of the dead fill the space of my mind_

_I'll search without sleeping 'til peace I can find_

_I fear not the weather, I fear not the sea_

_I remember the fallen, do they think of me?_

_When their bones in the ocean forever will be_

  
_Plot a course to the night to a place I once knew_

_To a place where my hope died along with my crew_

_So I swallow my grief and face life's final test_

_To find promise of peace and the solace of rest_

Her eyes were closed with her body leaning forward. They turned to each other, unsure of how they should answer. (Trix: wtf ma’am) A second voice suddenly joined her, one much heavier. They turned to see Runner rubbing the back of his neck while the general’s melody escaped his lips.

_As the songs of the dead fill the space of my ear_

_Their laughter like children, their beckoning cheers_

_My heart longs to join them, sing songs of the sea_

_I remember the fallen, do they think of me?_

_When their bones in the ocean forever will be_

Trix turned towards his commander.  
“How do you know what the song sa-” He was interrupted by a smaller voice rising next to him. A voice they’d never heard sing before.  
Shi sat straight, and stared forward as he sang a melody he had never heard before.

_When at last before my ghostly shipmates I stand_

_I shed a small tear for my home upon land_

_Though their eyes speak of depths filled with struggle and strife_

_Their smiles below say I don't owe them my life_

_As the souls of the dead fill the space of my eyes_

_And my boat listed over and tried to capsize_

_I'm this far from drowning, this far from the sea,_

_I remember the living do they think of me? When my bones in the ocean forever will be._

Their voices mixed together, making a tune that was light and heavy, steady and soulful. The clones technically had the same voice, however, in this small ring of light, after a day of loss and gain, each one’s voice sounded their own music.  
Fever had rested his elbows upon his knees, the only sign he’d followed the song being the heaving of his chest, and the new, soft harmony he offered.

_Now that I'm staring down at the darkest abyss_

_I'm not sure what I want but I don't think it's this_

_As my comrades call to stand fast and forge on_

_I make sail for the dawn 'til the darkness has gone_

Trix looked at his squad, maybe it was how the fire seemed to make their eyes glassy, or how the general had started smiling at them, but he saw something new in their faces. He desperately wanted to feel the same way, searching for the familiar symphony in his mind, finding nothing but an empty feeling.  
The general took his hand, and stared at him. Trix felt she stared directly into his mind, helping him search for a buried sentiment.

_As the souls of the dead live for'er in my mind_

_As I live all the years that they left me behind_

_I'll stay on the shore but still gaze at the sea_

_I remember the fallen and they think of me_

_For our souls in the ocean together will be_

He hadn’t noticed when he’d started to accompany them, but the words seemed to flow unto his mouth as the last words charged forward with the promise of a newer dawn, for both the fallen, and the ones who would continue to walk their paths.

_I remember the fallen and they think of me,_

  
_For our souls in the ocean together will be_

The melody ended. The air appeared to have cleared of the previous affliction.  
Shi was the first to speak what they all had on their minds.

“How did we know the words?”

“I didn’t expect you to, but it makes sense.” she said “It’s a popular, but ancient mando’ad song, from before, when there were endless seas and forests that reached the sky.”

She sighed and leaned backwards before continuing “You might not consider yourselves such, but you do have mandalorian blood. Maybe it 's that.”

“Whatever it was… thank you. I hadn’t noticed how...heavy I felt till you started uh- singing” Runner gave her a grateful glance.

Silence fell on the group once again, different this time. What was once filled with grief, now spilled with a special type of calm.

Apparently, Trix couldn’t let silence go on farther than two minutes.

“Well- I will say that my voice was by far the best one”

Four heads turned toward him in confusion, before laughter enveloped him.

“The best? More like the most shrieky. Mine was obviously the sweetest” Fever retorted.

“Untrue. Objectively, my voice is the steadiest, and with the best range” Shi’s voice was serious, but a smirk decorated his face.

“Might be biased, but everyone on the guard said I had the most enjoyable singing” said the general.

They looked down at the floor, debating if they should continue, or go back into the silence out of respect.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but I think my singing was the one that stood out the most” Runner muttered.

The general’s mouth broke out into a smile, letting out a small chuckle.

“I might almost agree with you”

Protests and claims of favoritism erupted around her, the silence long forgotten, replaced by teasing, laughter and songs.

They had come into the forest as a squadron and a new general.  
They still were, in a way, but as the sun dawned on their faces, they were also something more.

A group of lost men and a wayfinder.

A broken warrior and five welders.

A barely formed brotherhood and someone in desperate need of a family.

A general and her men.

**Author's Note:**

> The song's called Bones in the Ocean, by The Longest Johns.  
> (yes, it's a sea shanty, sue me)
> 
> Finally, you get to see a little bit more about her.
> 
> I didn't realize I still haven't said her name till I was about to publish it, but oh well, it'll remain a mystery for a bit longer.  
> As you can see, I am starved of found family in the middle of a war content, and I've always found the whole idea of the clones really interesting, so yeah.
> 
> They'll be really important to the general's arc, so watch out for them.
> 
> Once again, thanks to AQuietThinker who saves my terrible grammar.
> 
> And thank you for reading! Have a nice day or whatever.


End file.
